Nigeria may be excluded from a fresh $1.4bn United States health and humanitarian assistance package if the Federal Government fails to demonstrate measurable progress in protecting Christians from violence.

The condition is contained in a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding signed by Nigeria and the US under the America First Global Health Strategy. The agreement commits Washington to nearly $2.1bn over five years to support healthcare programmes covering HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health and polio.

A significant portion of the funding is intended for Nigeria's faith-based clinics and hospitals, which provide healthcare services to a substantial proportion of the country's population. However, the agreement gives the US President and Secretary of State the power to pause or terminate programmes that do not align with US national interests.

The agreement also expects Nigeria to continue making progress in combating extremist religious violence against vulnerable Christian communities. The US House of Representatives has separately voted to link assistance to verifiable measures to address concerns over Christian persecution.

Under the latest US health funding announcement, $1.4bn will support integrated health services delivered through faith- and community-based hospitals and clinics across more than 20 countries.

Of the amount, $850m will be provided through a Faith and Community Initiative to strengthen more than 2,500 faith-based hospitals and clinics in 17 countries, while another $570m will be channelled directly to faith-based and community hospitals through bilateral agreements with governments, including Nigeria.

The US State Department also announced $538m in humanitarian assistance for organisations supporting people affected by multiple humanitarian crises.

For Nigeria, access to the new funding could therefore depend on how the Federal Government responds to concerns raised by Washington over violence against Christian communities and its efforts to protect vulnerable populations.